How are you going to protect your family if you can't call your police department? Unfortunately, if you and your family are in real danger, it's possible you won't be able to call them.

Believe it or not, a major U.S. city's police department's computer system was shut down for three days. The cause? A cyberattack. A virus shut down their servers.

The Newark, New Jersey police department, a few miles outside New York City, confirmed the attack. They were unable to use the computer system to dispatch police to ongoing emergencies, although it's unclear how long that lasted.

However, we know it took three days for the Newark Police to clear the virus out of their system. Fortunately, the Newark Police had a backup system in place, according to multiple sources, including NJ Advance Media.

Note: Make sure your police department is prepared for a cyberattack. How? Call the non-emergency police number where you live, and ask the Police Chief if they've posted their cybersecurity plans online. If not, ask the Chief what those plans are.